


A Game of Chess

by disdainfulAvenger



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Chess, Friendship, Gen, Sass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-06
Updated: 2014-11-06
Packaged: 2018-02-24 08:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2574182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disdainfulAvenger/pseuds/disdainfulAvenger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yet the general, as it transpires, is better than Dorian had thought. "You look wounded," Cullen says after utterly destroying Dorian in less than a dozen moves. He leans back in his chair and smiles a little. "Really. Did you just pale, a little?"</p><p>"I did not," Dorian scoffs. He stares at the board. "That was...brutal."</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Game of Chess

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr for Dorian appreciation day. Leave kudos if you like! <3

So, Commander Cullen plays chess.

Dorian has not played chess for a while now (he has not had the luxury since leaving Minrathous) and he is eager to test the general’s skill. So he challenges Cullen to a game, and the general accepts cheerfully, noting that he too has not played for a while.

 _That is to my_ _advantage_ , Dorian thinks, as they set up a table and chairs, then the chess set. They sit, and Dorian allows Cullen to make the first move, smirking all the while. 

Yet the general, as it transpires, is better than Dorian had thought. "You look wounded," Cullen says after utterly destroying Dorian in less than a dozen moves. He leans back in his chair and smiles a little. "Really. Did you just pale, a little?"

"I did not," Dorian scoffs. He stares at the board. "That was...brutal."

"I used to play with my brother all the time," the general says. There is something in the way the words fall from his lips -  _regret?_ Dorian looks closer. Cullen smiles ruefully. "He was a brilliant player. A bit like you, though."

"How so?" Dorian asks. 

"He was always so cocky," Cullen tells him, and Dorian snorts. "Just like you. You did not think I would win, did you?" 

"I  _may_ have underestimated you," Dorian accedes, and Cullen's smile widens. "It will not happen again." He glances down at the pieces and smirks. "As you said: I am cocky. A terrible flaw of mine."  _  
_

"Well," Cullen offers, "I hope you are not extremely prideful, too, for I would appreciate another match. Provided you actually present a challenge, this time..."

Dorian scoffs. "Rematch," he demands, already forming a new strategy. "You will not catch me unawares again."

And so they play a new game. Dorian wins this one, using a clever little trick Alexius once imparted, and Cullen lets out a low whistle. "That was clever," the general notes. "Will you teach me that one?"

"And give away one of my best strategies? Hardly."

Cullen laughs, and so does Dorian. "Alright then," Cullen says, already setting the pieces out to start a new game. "Perhaps I might catch it on my own."

"You can try," Dorian tells him. A thought occurs to him, one that makes him laugh. "You know," he says, "I never really thought I would play a game of chess with someone who was once a Templar. A  _friendly_ game, that is. No swords drawn, no fireballs flung..."

"No fireballs yet," says Cullen, raising an eyebrow, "though how many consecutive losses would it take for that to occur?"

"You can try, Commander," Dorian scoffs, and moves his first piece. He sits back and watches Cullen with shrewd eyes. "You won't have me throwing fireballs anytime soon."

 


End file.
